Hillary Caps Extraordinary Briefing on U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Relations
By Leecia Eve on 06/21/2010 @ 11:52 AM
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton said last week in speaking about the relations between the United States and Sub-Saharan African nations: “[T]here’s a lot of exciting work that is going on, and we are extremely committed to that work. But we recognize that it is not the work of a year, nor even the work of a single four-year or eight-year administration. It needs to be the work of America, and therefore, it needs to be firmly rooted in how we define our interests and our values.”
That was the theme underlying an extraordinary policy briefing on U.S.-Sub-Saharan African relations that Allida Black, the Chair of the No Limits Human Rights Task Force, and I attended last week at the State Department. During a break in the briefing, Allida and I also had to chance to spend some time with Secretary Clinton to express to her how proud we and so many No Limits members are of the extraordinary work she is doing as Secretary of State as she leads the effort in forging our new foreign policy, building and expanding alliances with other nations, continuing her ground-breaking work in advancing the cause of human rights, and seeking to ensure a better future for every child, all of which will serve to strengthen our national security.
It was important that No Limits be there because so many of the issues that we care about – including the lack of access to primary education for more than 72 million girls and boys, the more than 215 million children who are victims of child labor, extreme poverty, poor maternal health and unnecessary deaths, human rights abuses against LGBT persons, and violence against women, particularly rape as a tool of armed conflict – are unfortunately still very much present in many African nations.
In addition to Secretary Clinton, among the speakers were Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs; Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer; Timothy Shortley, Deputy to the Special Envoy to Sudan; James Michel, Counselor, USAID; and Under Secretary of State for Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale. We were welcomed by Cheryl Benton, Deputy Assistant Security of State for the Bureau of Public Affairs and the afternoon briefing was moderated by Philip “PJ” Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Public Affairs.
Ambassador Carson set the table by providing an overview of U.S. priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa and our nation’s commitment to forge a deeper and lasting relationship with the continent. The five priorities are: strengthening democratic institutions and protecting democratic gains; supporting economic growth and development; maintaining a focus on health and health-related issues; helping to prevent, mitigate and resolve armed conflicts; and deepening our cooperation with African nations to address old and new transnational challenges, from violent extremism and trafficking in persons and narcotics to the illegal exploitation of minerals and other resources and climate change. For the full text of Ambassador Carson’s remarks and to watch a video, click here.
Ambassador Verveer gave a comprehensive update on the State Department’s unprecedented leadership in improving the lives of women and girls around the world, including supporting women’s economic participation (credit and financial inclusion remain barriers to women); food security (women are the majority of small-hold farmers but have different needs than men and also need land tenure rights); expanding women’s access to health; human trafficking; supporting women’s role in addressing climate change; combating violence against women; and supporting women’s increased political participation, recognizing that women, peace and security are all linked together.
One of the most informative aspects of Ambassador Verveer’s presentation was the connection she underscored between and among many of these issues, such as women’s health and violence against women. She talked about the more than 1100 rapes recorded (let alone the ones not recorded or even reported) each month in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and further explained that in Sudan and Chad, among other nations, “rape is a risk even in daily activity”, like walking to school or to get water from a well. As a result, it unfortunately wasn’t surprising to hear that sixty percent of those infected with HIV/AIDS are women and that girls are two to five times more likely to be infected than boys, violence against adolescent girls being one of the primary reasons.
Yes, throughout that afternoon we heard a lot of depressing news but there was also a lot of positive news, focused on efforts and results, as well. Each of the presenters discussed current challenges and the actions already undertaken to address various issues as well as efforts that would soon be underway in partnership with the African communities most affected.
As just one of among many examples, Ambassador Verveer talked about training for police on gender-based violence, seeking to move the mindset from so much of the violence being viewed as, not cultural, but criminal. In addition to other steps, she talked about how after Secretary Clinton’s trip to Goma, a city in the eastern DRC, the Secretary wanted to see what additional tools would be needed to address this issue. As a result, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1888 – providing new tools to deal with sexual gender-based violence in the DRC and elsewhere – was developed, and, the month after the Secretary’s trip to Goma, passed unanimously by the UN Security Council. What Ambassador Verveer made clear was extraordinary as these efforts of the past 18 months have been, they are just the beginning, not the end, of the effort to bring an end to gender-based violence.
Listening to the presenters reminded me of the time when I served as then-Senator Clinton’s Senate Counsel. No matter how difficult or complex a particular problem might have been, she never ceased to try and understand it as well as the best expert and then search for a way to address it. That’s how she served Americans as a United States Senator. Hearing from among the many State Department officials she now leads, it is clear that Secretary Clinton's unwavering commitment to find a solution to some of the most intractable challenges of our time is in full force. Thank goodness, as the world very much needs it.
You can check out a video of Secretary Clinton and read her remarks here.
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